Pegasus Secures Permission for Unusual Retail Project
27 January 2012

Our Manchester and Cambridge offices have secured permission for the change of use of a car showroom to a cash and carry club in East Anglia.

Pegasus was instructed following the initial application being withdrawn on the basis of it carrying insufficient supporting information and the proposed retail use and loss of employment land being considered as likely reasons for refusal in this context.

In response to this position we set about preparing two documents, one being a retail positioning statement and the second being a report on the site’s employment land position and other general planning matters.

The proposal was for a cash and carry club selling mainly Chinese and Far Eastern food products to wholesalers, restaurant and take away owners. The Applicant runs another similar business in East London so we were able to draw reference to their strict membership structure to prevent with control.

Our retail report also justified the need for an out-of-centre location adjoining the strategic highway network to enable access from large service vehicles and the lack of sequentially preferable sites in the area. With regard to employment land matters, we were categorical in noting that both existing and proposed uses were sui generis and that the existing use had supported a very limited number of jobs over recent years, which the application would improve.

Following a period of consideration, the application was moved for delegated approval and a Decision Notice issued. Whilst this represents a fairly unusual case, it does represent a good permission in a field where recent case law had been generally negative.

If you would like any further information on this case study please do not hesitate to contact Jonathan Vose (Manchester) or Jon Jennings (Cambridge)